A Reality Deferred
by Kitkatthetastysnack
Summary: Things are timed just slightly differently, and Zoro ends up sailing with the wrong Monkey. This will get more serious as things progress, but the content rating should not go up.
1. Chapter 1

"This smells delicious!" he gaped as he stepped into the galley, fidgeting with the yellow bandana tied a bit too tightly above his brow.

"You say that every day." Helmeppo yawned, stretching his arm across his chest.

"Because it's true!" he countered for the sake of tradition.

"Yeah.." his friend admitted, "yeah, it is."

Making a beeline through the half-dead marines who had dominated the center of the room, the two made their way to the end of the counter along the back, each grabbing one of the plastic trays stacked at the end.

Their selection of food was… a little intimidating, if Coby was being honest with himself. He knew from experience that everything offered was well-worth trying, yet he also knew that attempting to do so was a plan doomed to fail; there were always at least three main dishes, and the sides were innumerable. It was the largest selection of food he'd ever had to choose from, and it was some of the best food as well.

While Helmeppo dove right in, Coby gave himself a moment to take in what he was looking at. Cheesy scrambled eggs, hash browns that appeared to have some sort of spice mixed in, french toast, some sort of thick, red, saucy concoction filled with whole mushrooms… He'd never seen the last before. Perhaps he would-

A slender, brown arm draped itself over his shoulders, and Coby only barely had to resist the urge to scream.

"You're getting better." his assailant said while the blond snickered, "This time, you only jumped _one_ mile into the air."

"Isra-san!" Coby whined crossly, shrugging the man off him, "When will you stop this?"

Isra said nothing in response, punching him in the shoulder with a grin that made his answer apparent nonetheless.

"Wait a moment." Helmeppo said, eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion, "What are you doing out of the kitchen during breakfast?"

"Ah, Garp took me off breakfast today, said I should make a list of everything we have left in storage, and everything I'd like to get." he said with a huff.

Weird.

"W-wouldn't this normally please you?" Coby asked with a small amount of apprehension, "I mean, you get to personally decide what gets bought."

"Not really," Isra sighed, "I mean, you're right about the deciding, but I usually end up choosing anyway."

When both Helmeppo _and_ Coby stared blankly, he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Lists aren't really my thing." the cook explained, "I usually just get what I feel like getting at the time, and I know our crew enough to guess the amounts, so this is pretty much a wasted morning. The only thing I can really think of beforehand for this place is salt."

"Salt?" he asked innocently, and his friend's eyes lit up. Helmeppo picked up his half-full dish, and scurried away all but frantically. Coby idly took notice of his own plate's distinct lack of foodstuffs, and started plopping select items onto his plate.

"Every year this huge-ass wave comes crashing down on the lower half of the city we're going to, and when everything dries up, there's all this salt left over!" Isra hummed excitedly, "And it just so happens that we're showing up within a week of it, so the rooftops should be caked!"

"A wave overtakes the city?" the petty officer asked mildly, throwing some jam packets onto the tray.

"Yeah, every year. Everyone in the lower half has really good sealing all over their buildings, and they all just go uphill for the night. It's hardly a big deal to them." Isra shrugged noncommittally, nudging Coby towards the drink station.

"Wow." Coby said as he picked up his tray, moving in the direction his friend wanted.

It wasn't long ago that he would have gasped in horror, he mused as he picked up a giant thermos of near-boiling water, pouring into a mug supplied by the other.

"I can't believe I'm used to this." he muttered, plopping a bag of green tea into the mug.

"Used to what?"

He squinted at his friend incredulously, "Giant waves crashing on top of cities full of people who see it as everyday life?"

"That's hardly a big deal though…" Isra said carefully, filling a glass with chocolate milk.

"Hey, you were born on the Grand Line." Coby said, rolling his eyes.

"So was a pretty large chunk of the world." he said, "Statistically speaking, my experiences count as average just as much as someone from East Blue."

"Nu-uh," Coby whined as they both made their way towards the table Helmeppo had chosen a couple minutes before, "The Grand Line makes up like, twenty percent tops. That does not create a world-wide statistical average."

"Neither does East Blue though! I know, you're probably thinking about all the 'Blues, but they're all vastly different. Like in North Blue, things are pretty much like here, but with meaner people and what _you_ would call sensible weather."

"What do you mean what _I_ call sensible weather? In East Blue the weather can be explained using a thing we like to call science, which I think makes it like, certifiably sensible." he said as the two of them sat down.

"Dear God, no!" Helmeppo, who coby had chosen to sit across from, pleaded.

"You don't even know what we're talking about!" Isra hissed, sipping angrily at his milk.

"I don't need to, I know it's some dumb, pointless fight using obnoxious words because you two get some kick out of sounding like assholes, and it is too early for that." Helmeppo said, sticking out his tongue.

"Says the guy who terrorized a town with a wolf and used his father as a way to blackmail the others into putting up with it." Isra said with a smug grin, and Coby had to laugh.

"Will you guys let that go already?" Helmeppo wailed, planting his face firmly onto the table.

"Never." Coby and Isra said in unison.

ooooo

It was when he glanced up after his thousandth rep that the speck that had been creeping up on the horizon for a nice, long while had transformed into a very clear cone.

"Land ho!" Zoro shouted, not bothering to look down from the crow's nest; the Vice Admiral's shouted (and strangely angry) excitement was enough to be sure the entire ship would be well aware within the next moment.

Sometime during the next hundred reps (he was focusing on his arms today-overall a fairly normal workout), the ropes leading up to the

"Since I know you weren't listening to Garp's spiel on deck, I'll fill you in." his guest announced as he took a seat on the bench beside Zoro's spot on the floor.

There was a moment of silence before he looked up at the dark haired man questioningly, "Well?"

"Just making sure you were actually gonna listen." he shrugged, "Anyway, Garp's gonna take a pretty large group out with him for some mystery task, you're on that group, and then we're all pretty much free to do whatever we see fit for the next few days."

"Ok. When's Garp leaving?" he grunted, setting his dumbbells onto the floor beside him. .

"After we get settled down, so you've got a few minutes. That's only part of what I came up here for though. I was wondering if you'd be willing to come help me with some shit afterwards."

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the slender man, who held his hands out in front of himself defensively.

"C'mon Roronoa, don't be like that. This isn't something awful, we're just gonna get salt."

"Hey, I didn't agree to it yet!" he growled frustratedly, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"You always do though!" Isra huffed, taking about the same posture, "Look, we can sneak some extra booze in if that'll make this part go faster. We can hide it with the salt since I'm the only one who'll ever go that far into the store room."

"Maybe." he caved in, "There'd better be some white rice in my near future though."

"You're so boring." the cook said, though his words held little weight.

"Grilled sea king too. And don't forget the ale. And the booze stash you promised."

"Yeah, yeah." Isra chuckled, "I know what you like."

ooooo

A/N

So here it is folks: the replacement for the first chapter of this story. I still have no beta reader, so feel free to point out errors if you see any. I also may update this chapter later if I see anything I want to change myself, but it shouldn't be anything terribly large.

I'd also like to ask whether or not you have any input on whether or not I bring in Auntie's Family (remember Michael and Hoichael?) into the story. It definitely wouldn't be one of the major plot points, but I could see their inclusion being cute.

Anyways, feel very encouraged to review! There's nothing quite like having others comment on your writing.


	2. Chapter 2

"Vice-Admiral Garp has a grandson?" a scraggly seaman whispered to the bearded recruit beside him.

"This is the first I've heard of it." the other replied quietly.

Most of the marines huddled around the gaping hole Garp had punched the wall had similar side-conversations going on; not one of them had known a thing about their leader's family, and few were able to stifle their surprise. How they managed to continue listening to the exchange was all but a mystery to Zoro (though if he had to guess, he would assume it had to do with the sheer volume of virtually any interaction involving Garp, causing any and all of them to be all but impossible to ignore).

"Don't try to fight him!" the young pirate warned his subordinates, "I was almost killed by grandpa tons of times in the past!"

"Hey now. Don't start speaking ill of me." the old man grunted defensively, "I tossed you into that bottomless ravine, and left you alone in the jungle at night, and tied you to balloon and sent you flying into the sky all to make you into a strong man!"

There was a moment of pregnant silence during which every person present, pirate or marine, was thinking the same thing; what the hell. Eventually, one of the other pirates remarked on his captain's will to live, and Garp continued speaking.

"In the end I left you with a close friend to continue your training with Ace. And while you were out of my sight, this happened." he said, voice thick with disappointment, "I did that all to forge you into a strong marine!"

The pirate stumbled to his feet, "I always told you that I wanted to be a pirate, didn't I?"

"You were corrupted by that 'Red-Hair'!" Garp pointed an accusatory finger towards his grandson.

"I-I owe my life to Shanks! Don't insult him!" the boy screamed indignantly, and Zoro couldn't help but feel a slight admiration for the kid. He'd never considered himself the submissive type-and he sure as hell never would-but he'd spent only a few months with the Vice Admiral and knew far better than to yell at him.

"Do you mean to tell your own grandpa what to do?" Garp raged, grabbing the boy by his shirt collar. Predictably, he took back his words in a rather desperate way, shouting apologies as he tried to wiggle out of his grandfather's grip. The other pirates started to panic as well, hurriedly debating the pros and cons of retaliation amongst themselves.

Just as things were getting heated, the two promptly fell asleep. The swordsman's migraine (which had become all too familiar since joining the military) hit him full-force, and he decided in that moment, with Garp holding his grandchild up by the collar while both slept like children, that his presence there was entirely unnecessary. Fairly certain that his colleagues' attentions were all but captured, he plugged his ears, and started inching towards the edge of the group.

Garp woke up just as he reached his point of escape, and, predictably, all hell broke loose. As the building itself rocked back and forth, every occupant screaming at the top of their lungs, Zoro would have thanked the gods for his own opportunistic tendencies if he had been a man of faith.

ooooo

His back hit the ground, and one of his subordinates (the fact that he had subordinates would never stop feeling strange and scary and amazing) called out to him.

"Really, you're no match at all!" the Vice Admiral cackled from the sidelines. He slapped his knee, tears pouring down his face.

"You're as strong as I thought." Coby said breathlessly, grinning up at his idol, "Just what I'd expect."

Luffy, whose fist was pulled back and aimed to knock Coby's lights out, loosened his grip on the boy's neck, standing up and stepping back as he admitted defeat.

"Luffy-san." he said as he pushed himself off the grass, brushing the dirt from his pants, "It's been a while. Do you know who I am?"

Luffy's eyebrows furrowed, "Who?"

"It's me, Coby!" he answered, grin stretching just a bit larger, "Don't you remember?"

"Coby?" the other puzzled, face contorting in thought. For a moment, the pirate's eyes glazed over, and he was somewhere else.

"Coby?" he repeated, snapping back to reality, "Coby is my friend but.. But the Coby I know was a lot smaller."

"That Coby." he said firmly, "That same crybaby, good for nothing, Coby."

It was strangely nice to say it. The words didn't sting like they always had before. They didn't have the same bite that only the truth ever does, because they didn't apply to him anymore. He had lifted their weight on his own power.

"Are you serious?" Luffy squawked. Coby chuckled as his eyes bulged out of his head.

"I'm still barely an officer, but when I heard you were on this island too, I couldn't resist coming to see you!" Coby spoke through his friend's continued noises, moving to salute.

"It's because of you that I've become who I am!" he said proudly, "A lot has happened… Right now we're being trained by Vice-Admiral Garp while travelling between bases."

"So that's what's happened?" Luffy said excitedly, "But man, there should be a limit to how fast you grow. That really surprised me! You were a bit rounder then too."

Luffy clapped him on the back, and the two started off towards what was left of the building his group was staying in.

"You must have been pretty tired after that incident, sorry to disturb you." Coby said awkwardly, though not feeling very guilty.

"It's fine, it's fine," Luffy grinned, hand lingering on Coby's shoulder, "it's been a while, so let's make it a party!"

"Wait a second! You!" a voice came out from its place in the crowd, "You didn't recognize me at all, did you?"

The two turned to look at the blond, whose face was bright red and wet with tears. After a moment, Luffy spoke.

"Who're you?"

"It's me!" he shouted, pointing at his own face, angry tears all but forgotten, "Me!"

"I don't know. Who are you?"

"The answer is," he said regally, lifting his sunglasses from his nose, "Helmeppo. Captain Morgan's son, Helmeppo."

He received a blank, emotionless stare in response.

"You've got to be kidding!" he shouted desperately, "I terrorized the town with a wolf!"

"No clue." Luffy said without a moment's hesitation. Coby had to actively think about keeping a straight face.

"I'm that idiot who rode on his father's fame!" he proclaimed almost proudly, and Coby had to wonder just why it was he wanted his less than honorable role in that fiasco to be remembered.

"Oh." Luffy said, altogether unimpressed, "That was you?"

Coby rolled his eyes at the other marine's new bout of self-induced tears.

ooooo

"What?" he balked, watching as a wave crashed against the rocks in front of him, "The sea again? What's wrong with this island?"

Zoro could have sworn that alley was the right one. It had looked so familiar, but opened up to a rocky beach just like the last five he'd found that that.

"What's this? Looks like we have an idiot over here." a voice taunted from behind him.

"Should we do it then?" a second asked.

"Hey oldie. You don't look too familiar." the first said.

"Show us your face." the other chuckled.

Zoro obliged.

ooooo

"Take these two and have a nice long chat." Garp had said, and it hadn't quite been the end of the conversation, but it was the end of what Coby found to be at all important. Coby's mind was focused on one thing, and the few more minutes of the Vice Admiral and his grandson screaming at one another flew right by his radar. He was being given the chance to spend time (and by the sound of it a hefty bit at that) alone with Luffy.

Well, not quite alone, but Helmeppo wasn't exactly an unwelcomed presence.

"Oi, Coby, what're you telling him?"

Coby giggled, "It'll be alright since it's Luffy-san."

"What do you mean it'll be ok? He's a pirate!" Helmeppo insisted, throwing his hands in the air in his exasperation.

"It's alright!" Coby repeated to deaf ears.

"Don't just talk to each other." Luffy crossed his arms, slumping a bit in frustration.

"Um, this is a secret, but at headquarters they have ships that are able to move through the Calm Belt-"

"That's unfair!" Luffy interrupted with a shout, leaning forward expectantly.

"Of course they aren't 100% perfect though."

"But why? There are sea kings bigger than battle ships." Luffy said, and something told Coby the pirate had some personal experience with the matter. His brow furrowed momentarily, and then he confirmed the marine's suspicions, and Coby made a mental note to ask about it later, "They really messed us up!"

"Well," Coby began, "The truth is, the undersides of the ships are covered in a rock known as Sea-Stone."

"Ok. That makes sense." Luffy replied bluntly, all the confusion that had distorted his features just moments ago gone into thin air.

"Luffy-san, did you already know about sea-stone before?"

"Nope." he answered blankly, and Coby's jaw dropped.

When Garp's ship had first headed for the grand line, Coby hadn't been much of a help. Which is to say that he'd been all enthusiasm and curiosity up until the point that they started rowing the ship forward, and he'd taken a look over the side. He had broken into tears as the ship sailed directly above monsters easily ten times larger than any he had ever encountered (the one "sea king" he'd seen during his time aboard Alvida's ship was maybe the size of one of these creatures' heads). They had finished crossing the Calm Belt before the man trying to explain their actions to the hysterical boy made any headway at all, and it took at least an hour of deep, detailed discussion on radiation to sate his more inquisitive side.

Apparently Luffy didn't need to understand energy and how the creatures in the ocean perceived and reacted to it in order to accept "sea-stone" as a valid answer. He just grinned on (likely in response to Coby's bewildered expression) without a care in the world. Maybe science just wasn't up his alley.

(Or perhaps the boy himself, who almost certainly defied any sort of explanation, was a little bit too large for all that.)

"Luffy." he said, "We're enemies now, but… are we still.."

"Friends?" Luffy supplied helpfully, "Definitely."

It felt like his first day in the marines.

ooooo

"The fuck are you snickering about?" Isra questioned, squinting as he gave Zoro a twice-over for incriminating oddities. Zoro may have taken offense, but then, perhaps the man was somewhat justified in his suspicion; everyone and their mother knew the swordsman wasn't exactly the most expressive, and he had just come back alone from a group outing.

Though Zoro had thought he'd done a better job acting natural; only a couple of his crewmates had looked at him oddly during his trip to and from his shared cabin, and both had shaken it off after a moment.

"Well?" his friend pressed.

"I almost got mugged." he answered with a grin.

The cook visibly cringed, "Ok, I take it back. I don't need to know where you hid the bodies.."

Well.

"What kind of idea do you have of me?" he balked. Isra shrugged.

"It was two little boys." he explained with a huff, "They came up behind me talking shit, and then basically crapped their pants once I looked their way."

He left out their role in his arrival. The rather abrupt submission of the boys was rather hilarious, but his struggles with the ever-changing cityscape were, in his opinion, best left unmentioned.

"Think you'll be safe going back out into the city?" Isra taunted, lips stretching into a dangerous smile, "They could bring their friends and jump you in revenge."

Zoro snorted, "Maybe I should stay inside then. That does sound pretty terrifying."


	3. Chapter 3

It took about two minutes for Zoro to realize the error of his decision. When Isra had said that they were going to get salt, he had pictured himself lugging large, finely woven sacks of expensive rock salt between a shop and the ship-a decent hands-on substitute for parts of his daily circuit. The reality ended up being himself standing on a roof and holding an empty bag open while his ass of a friend used a metal scraper to, well, scrape salt off of said roof and into his bag. He didn't bother questioning the presence of salt on a roof.

"Couldn't you just buy salt?" he groaned, "Don't tell me _Garp's_ decided to cheap out on you."

"Nope," the cook said lightly, looking up from his task with something just slightly kinder than a smirk gracing his features, "Garp's backing my needs just fine. Thing is, not a lot of people know about this salt, and those who do tend to keep it on the downlow. Most of the locals don't even know, so it's not in any stores."

"You have secret salt?" he snickered.

"We- just wait for dinner."

ooooo

"Come back to the hotel!" Luffy said out of the blue, leaning in just a bit closer as he continued, "Meet my crew, we'll throw a party!"

"I've got a lot to do back on the ship," Helmeppo stuttered as Coby too scrambled to form a response. The blond's instant nix on the invitation (apparently his desire to keep his reputation intact overpowered his wish to stick in Luffy's mind) wasn't really helping his decision making process. He chose not to point out that Garp had more than implied that both their schedules would be cleared for the foreseeable future.

He did not, however, follow suit.

"Um," he started as Luffy's gaze focused itself on him alone, "Sure, why not?"

The wide, gleaming smile that spread across Luffy's face was a sure sign that he would come to regret his choice.

ooooo

The changing rooms were like vaults, made of sturdy wood that met both the floor and ceiling, and the doors were slightly larger than the doorways, attached to the insides of the stalls rather than inside the frames themselves. It was a small miracle they hadn't been made airtight. There was also an attendant standing behind a desk, controlling entrance to the area itself. The area so closed off, he thought it just might have been possible to hide from Garp in there.

 _As if._

Zoro pulled the restrictive white uniform over his head, hooking it unceremoniously over one of the pegs one the wall, elegantly titled _Maybe Not_. He lifted a hanger from the peg labeled _Gotta Have It,_ pulling the high-collared yellow shirt off of it.

The look he got as he, at long last, chose to emerge from his bunker was, despite being somewhat offensive, pretty damn funny.

"What kind of shirt is that?"

"One that I'm gonna buy," Zoro retorted, more to annoy the cook than because of any real attachment to the shirt.

"It's got a zipper with no pull tag, and the teeth go all the way up the collar," Isra gestured to the void where the pull-tab should have been, "What the hell."

Zoro shrugged.

"Come on, with the amount of salt we scraped up, we could each justifiably spend enough money for a suit," the cook was grasping at straws now; he knew Zoro wasn't the type to wear a suit at all, let alone buy one to keep.

"Maybe I'll get two."

"You are absolutely hopeless," Isra said dejectedly, face in his hands as he slumped onto the next to the stalls.

"Least I'm going with it," the fact that most of the guys on the ship wouldn't have participated in their current heist went without saying. Zoro had noticed early on just how very righteous most marines tried to be, and it hadn't taken him much longer to notice the irony in that.

"It really is a shame Coby is so straight-laced."

"Sure," Zoro chuckled, "He'd probably just end up buying some cheap Galley-La merchandise."

It was a point that couldn't be argued. In the time since his promotion, the only new clothing he had bought was a yellow bandana with the flower-print from a street stand at the last port they'd popped into. Zoro felt it was a pretty safe bet that even if Coby had been the type of person to bend rules, not much would come of it.

"He probably _will_ ," the cook sighed with a grin, "Still better than a shirt with a stupid _and_ useless zipper."

" _Two_ shirts with useless zippers."

"What are you even going to do with those? You need to become a petty officer before you can wear civvies, anyway."

Zoro grunted noncommittally.

"It's not like I'll be able to wear the suit you want so bad any sooner," he said as he stepped back out into the open, not bothering to change.

"Sooner?" Isra hummed after a short silence, "Are you finally going to try for a promotion?"

"It's gotta be pretty easy," he replied, thinking of Helmeppo before the words left his mouth. If that senseless kid could become a chief petty officer in the few months he'd been enlisted, Zoro could be a petty officer by the end of the week.

Isra rolled his eyes, "Right. You know the reason you haven't been promoted is because of shit like today, right?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Garp didn't, and wasn't going to know about their redirection of unnecessary funds.

"You showed up before everyone else that left, if only barely," he said, pushing off the bench with a yawn, "For that to be possible, you'd have to have ditched the group after only a few minutes. You're not exactly the most disciplined soldier. Come on."

Zoro grabbed his uniform top from the stall, and the two of them started towards the front counter. True to his word, Zoro stopped at the rack he'd gotten the yellow shirt from as they walked by it. He ignored the displeased noise his friend made as he shuffled through the hangers in search of an extra-large. It took a moment, and it was the only one there, but he thankfully found what he was looking for, rolled it up, and threw it into the basket Isra was carrying, alongside the pair of boots the man had picked for himself.

"Don't make me carry your shit," Isra protested, shoving the basket into his hands as he turned away, walking straight into another customer.

"Sorry." the ginger smiled, stepping back, and walking away with her friend. Although, away happened to be in the same direction the two men were already heading, and they ended up waiting behind the women at the register.

"Ah, crap." the shorter of the two said as she fumbled with her wallet, "Where'd I put the money in this thing?"

The cashier looked at her expectantly as she flipped through the wallet as her friend shook her head, eventually pulling out a few bills that seemed to sate the man waiting. The women walked away, and Zoro and Isra stepped up to the register, the former emptying the basket out onto the counter, save for his uniform top. Isra nudged him as the cashier rang up their items.

"We've, uh, got a problem." he whispered, coughing slightly and patting his pocket.

ooooo

"Get over here, you rubbery sack of shit!" Luffy's chef bellowed, strutting across the floor to kick his captain into oblivion.

Coby's food had been gone before he had a chance to take his second bite (he'd needed a moment to recover after the first; the "makeshift" meatloaf had been just a step above divine, totally incomparable to anything he'd had before), and the blond, who had seemingly witnessed this stunt a thousand times too many, was out for blood. Both Coby and the raccoon-dog sitting next to him gasped in dismay as Sanji hooked his ankle around Luffy's neck, pulling him from his seat. They both flinched as he rose the same leg high, and drove the captain's head into the floorboards.

Just as Sanji was sitting down, one of Luffy's heavily bandaged hands crept back onto the table, scuttling around in search of the food.

"Hands off, you bastard!" the animal screeched as the hand came within inches of his plate. He slapped the hand away from the plate, and it snapped back over to its owner on the floor.

"Feel free to take some more," Sanji said, gesturing towards the truly enormous plate of meatloaf in the center of the table, "There should still be enough for you to eat your fill."

The _if you hurry_ went unspoken, but not unnoted.

ooooo

"At least we got the salt," Isra declared weakly, running his fingers through his disheveled hair.

"And everything else?"

"We'll be eating a lot of starches between here and the next island."

ooooo

"Chopper. Hurry up."

"I have to be sure he doesn't have alcohol poisoning!"

"Alcohol can't poison you. Nami drinks alcohol all the time."

"That's _not_ how it works!"

Coby flinched at the high-pitched cry.

"Stop it," he slurred, bringing his hands to his ears. Or, the floor on either side of his head. Whatever it was, it was hard.

"Oh, thank god," the creature hovering above him heaved in relief, "You're awake."

"No," he groaned weakly, trying and failing to roll onto his side. He laid on his back a second longer, and tried again, this time going a bit farther than intended, and flopping onto his stomach.

"Stay down, idiot!" the doctor shouted as Coby tried to push up onto his elbows.

Coby paid the frantic warning no heed, and pushed himself up into something like a sitting position, with his legs folded underneath. He noticed the world tipping to the side, and his stomach churned as the floor came to meet him. It never quite reached him, as a pair of bandaged hands held him just outside its reach. He clung to them for fear he would fall off the tilting earth.

"Just- Just set him against the couch."

"Okay."

The hands tugged on his shoulders, and he slid backwards until he came up against a hard, fabric-covered object. Probably the couch. He sags into it, leaning his head back until it hits the cushion, and he can see Luffy peering down at him with wide eyes.

"I bet that was your first time," he chirped, and Coby nodded groggily, "Usopp got like this too."

Luffy's face fell a second after he said it, and he turned to look up at the ceiling. A few feet away, Coby could hear the tiny doctor sniffling.

"Who's that?" he asked, startled by the abrupt change of mood.

"He's," Luffy started, choking on his own words before he could finish his sentence. About that time, the doctor (whose name Coby couldn't remember if his own life was at stake) started wailing. He wondered if Usopp had died.

His neck hurt. Coby sat up, bringing his head up off the couch despite his body's protest.

The world went black before he could get his bearings.

ooooo

A/N

So it's been over a year. Yeah, I dunno where I'm going with this, aside from acknowledging that it's been forever since I looked at this. Is it bad if I say that I had most of this chapter done the whole time?

Psa: if your friend ever gets like Coby did in this, take them to the hospital. Like, immediately. Even if they or you are underage. It's better to get in trouble than to have a dead friend. Passing out is a very bad sign, and so is puking. This kind of thing is only funny in fiction.

Fun Fact: I modelled Isra after Robin (pre-timeskip-we don't talk about the "stylistic choices" made afterwards). Same eyes, nose, and skin-tone. His hair is like Shuraiya Bascud's, but with bangs, and black. Also the shirt in the shop is the one Zoro wore in Enies Lobby.

As always, I have no beta, so feel free to point out typos, plot holes, etc. And if you have any suggestions, feel free to give them! I do have a general plan for this, but it's pretty vague, and smaller stuff is very flexible (read: I have no clue what I'm doing on a scene-to-scene basis) right now.


End file.
